author: Ihor Kyvliuk
Relevance of the research. The traditional understanding of the university as a “temple of knowledge”, embodying spiritual and humanistic values, academic autonomy and the classical model of education, is gradually changing. The university is moving to a new type of functioning - a network center of innovation, where knowledge is not only transmitted, but also actively created in interaction with digital platforms, business, technological clusters and global scientific communities.
The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that education and science are becoming key factors in the development of a knowledge society, and the university is a central element of this system. However, its classical paradigm, based on the lecture-auditorium model, is increasingly less responsive to the challenges of the digital age. There is a need for a philosophical rethinking of the mission of the university as an intellectual, social and innovative node of a network society, which ensures sustainable development, produces creative capital and forms new ethical guidelines.
Problem statement. In the conditions of the information society, knowledge ceases to be exclusively a value that is stored and becomes a resource of innovative development, which is constantly generated, updated and distributed in network interactions between the university, business, state and society.
There is a need for a philosophical understanding of how the mission of the university is changing - from a center of the spiritual and intellectual elite to a multifunctional innovation hub that combines scientific research, entrepreneurship and public communication.
Analysis of recent research and publications. An important contribution to the development of the university idea was made by Henry Newman, who was an apologist for the university primarily as an educational institution. Leading philosophers in the 20th century tried to understand the mission of the university, its specifics and purpose - in particular, José Ortega y Gasset, Karl Jaspers, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Yaroslav Pelikan. A significant contribution to the study of the problems of the development of the modern university was made by such Ukrainian scientists as V. G. Kremen, V. P. Andrushchenko, M. I. Boychenko, O. E. Gomilko, L. S. Gorbunova, V. V. Zinchenko, S. A. Kalashnikova, V. I. Lugovyi, L. M. Panchenko, S. V. Proleev, Z. F. Samchuk, O. M. Slyusarenko, I. V. Stepanenko, Zh. V. Talanova.
Research task. To perform a comprehensive philosophical and educational analysis of the transformation of the social role of the university — from the classical model of the “temple of knowledge” to the modern paradigm of the university as a network center of innovation.
Main material presentation. A historical analysis of the evolution of the university model has been carried out - from the University of Bologna, which became a symbol of the European educational tradition of the Middle Ages, to the university of today, which functions as an integrated element of the global innovation network. It has been traced how the university gradually transitioned from the role of the custodian of classical knowledge and spiritual values to the status of an active subject of scientific and technological development and social transformations.
Conclusions. The transformation of the university from a “temple of knowledge” to a “network center of innovation” reflects profound changes in the cultural, social and technological structures of modern society. If the classical university embodied the traditions of academic autonomy, spirituality and the preservation of knowledge, then the modern one functions as a dynamic communicative hub integrated into global networks of science, business and digital technologies.
Today, the university acts not only as a center of education and research, but also as a catalyst for innovation, a driver of socio-economic development, a space for cooperation and interdisciplinary dialogue. At the same time, it must maintain its humanistic mission - the upbringing of critical thinking, the formation of ethical responsibility and cultural identity.
Keywords: university; temple of knowledge; innovation; network society; digitalization; educational evolution; science; knowledge; globalization
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